had reasonable cause or pretext for any their aggression," and compares it to the iniquitous triple alliance, known as the League of Cambray, against the liberties and existence of the Republic of Venice. Upon Louis crossing the Rhine, a panic appears to have seized upon the whole population; city after city surrendered to his arms without striking a blow; and Amsterdam would have fallen into his power had not the sluices been broken, and, by letting in the waters, overflowed the surrounding country, which became the means of saving the city, and eventually the nation. Had the capital been taken the Republic would have perished, and perhaps even the whole country would have disappeared in this emergency. We quote from Voltaire: "The richest families, and those which were most zealous for liberty, prepared to flee into the farthest part of the world, and embark for Batavia. They took a list of all the vessels capable of making the voyage, and made a calculation of the numbers they could embark. It was found that fifty thousand families could take refuge in their new country. Holland would no more have existed, but at the extremity of the East Indies. Its provinces in Europe, which purchase their corn only with the riches of Asia, which subsist only by their commerce, and, if the expression may be used, by their liberty, would have been almost ruined and depopulated. Amsterdam, the mart and magazine of Europe, where commerce and the arts are cultivated by two hundred thousand men, would soon have be "I have a cipal support of the state. sure method," said he, "to prevent my ever being a witness to the ruin of my country; I will die in the last intrenchment." The King, finding a spirit of resistance arising, difficulties increasing, and that he could do nothing more in a country almost submerged, the dykes having been broken, left his army, and returned to Paris to enjoy the flatteries and adulation of his Court, and of the people of his capital, who erected the vain trophy of the Porte St. Denis, to eternalize conquests which were abandoned before the proud monument was finished. It stands upon the site of the ancient Porte St. Denis, built under Charles IX., and was designed by Blondel. Its beauty of proportion and execution renders it one of the prominent ornaments of the French capital. It rises from a base of seventy-two feet to a height of seventy-three feet; the principal arch being twenty-five feet wide, and forty-three feet high. Two smaller openings on each side, five feet in width by ten feet in height, are rather defects in the structure, not originally intended by the architect. Over these entrances are pyramids in bas relief, which rise to the height of the entablature, and are ornamented with military trophies, at the base of which, on the one side, are figures allegorical of Holland and the Rhine; on the other side two crouching lions The bas reliefs over the arch represent, the one, the passage of the Rhine at Tholuys, and the other, the taking of Maestricht. In the spandrels of the arch are come a vast morass. All the neighbour-figures of Fame and Victory, and on the ing lands require immense expenses, and thousands of hands, to keep up their dykes. In all probability their inhabitants would have left them, with their riches, and they would have been at last sunk under water, leaving to Louis XIV. only the miserable glory of having destroyed the finest and most extraordinary monument ever erected by human industry. Yet this is what poets, orators, and, perhaps, historians, would have adorned with all the flowers of the most eloquent flattery." It was in this fearful situation that the Dutch sued for peace, and implored the clemency of the victor; but they were received with insulting haughtiness, and intolerable conditions prescribed. The terror of the people was changed into despair, and despair revived their drooping courage; but, in the first transports of their fury, the populace, forgetting the eminent services of the patriots, John and Cornelius De Witt, and charging them as being the authors of the present calamities, with savage brutality murdered and tore them in pieces. This occurred on the 20th of August. The young Prince of Orange was then created Stadtholder, and became the prin frieze, in bronze letters, is the inscription, LUDOVICO MAGNO. The sculptures are, in general, well executed by Geradore, an artist of some celebrity in his time. In common with most of the public buildings of France, this arch had been much degraded during the fever of the Revolution. Its inscriptions and bas reliefs had been entirely defaced, but the whole was repaired, with much judgment, by Cellerier, in 1807, and the various inscriptions restored. INGENIOUS DEFENCE. T. SOME young gentlemen of Lincoln's Inn, heated by their cups, having drunk confusion tion, cited before the star-chamber. They apto the Archbishop Laud), were, at his instigaplied to the Earl of Dorset for protection. "Who bears witness against you?" said Dorset. "One of the drawers," said they. "Where did he stand when you were supposed to drink this health?" subjoined the earl." "He was at the door," they replied, "going out of the room." "Tush!" he cried, "the drawer was mistaken; you drank confusion to the Archbishop of Canterbury's enemies, and the fellow was gone before you pronounced the last word."-Hume's History of England. THE POISONED VALLEY OF JAVA. It is known by the name of Guevo Upas, or poisoned Valley; and, following a path which had been made for the purpose, the party shortly reached it with a couple of dogs and some fowls, for the purpose of making experi ments. On arriving at the mountain," th party dismounted, and scrambled up the side of the hill, a distance of a quarter of a mile. with the assistance of the branches of tree and projecting roots. It was now When a few yards from the valley, a strong, nauseous, and suffocating smell was experienced; but, on approaching the margin, this inconvenience was no longer found. The valley is about half a mile in circumference, of an oval shape, and about thirty feet in depth. The bottom of it appeared to be flat, without any vegetation, and a few large stones scattered here and there. Skeletons of human beings, tigers, bears, deer, and all sorts of birds and wild animals, lay about in profusion. The ground on which they lay at the bottom of the valley appeared to be a hard sandy substance, and no vapour was perceived. The sides were covered with vegetation. proposed to enter it; and each of the party, having lit a cigar, managed to get within twenty feet of the bottom, where a sickening, nauseous smell was experienced, without any difficulty of breathing. A dog was now fastened at the end of a bamboo, and thrust to the bottom of the valley, while some of the party, with their watches in their hands, observed the effects. At the expiration of fourteen seconds the dog fell off his legs, without moving or looking round, and continued alive only eighteen minutes. The other dog now left the party, and went to his companion; on reaching him he was observed to stand quite motionless, and at the end of ten seconds fell down; he never moved his limbs after, and lived only seven minutes. A fowl was now thrown in, which died in a minute and a half, and another, which was thrown in after, died in the space of a minute and a half. A heavy shower fell during the time that these experi ments were going forward, which, from the interesting nature of the experiments, was quite disregarded. On the opposite side of the valley to that which was visited lay a human skeleton, the head resting on the right arm. The effect of the weather had bleached the bones as white as ivory. This was probably the remains of some wretched rebel, hunted towards the valley, and taking shelter there unconscious of its character.-Jamaica Watchman. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SIR In the parliamentary papers of August 8, 1832, numbered 733, there are several communications from the Governor of the Bahamas to Viscount Goderich, which throw much light on the present character of colonial slavery, We hear, in this country, of its mitigation, and are assured of the willingness of the planters to provide for the protection, comfort, and moral instruction of their slaves; but, when ever an opportunity is afforded us of looking into the system itself, its dark and revolting features are distinctly traced. It is, to use the words of Sir J. C. Smyth, "an Augean stable, which may be cleansed, but only by unceasing efforts, seconded by your Lordship's (Goderich) cordial support, and the weight of your authority." When was stronger language used by any abolitionist ? slaves altogether. Most sincerely do I lament the power of inflicting punishment, is not to be that those magistrates whom I removed for order- looked for in a hurry," is but too well founded. It ing two women with infants at the breast, and is fit, however, that it should be distinctly underone other with child, to be flogged, were restored stood that the government and people of Great to the bench. It not only weakened my authority Britain will not patiently acquiesce in the contiand influence, but, by encouraging an idea that nuance of such a system in any part of his MajesBritish government was cool and indifferent upon ty's dominions. It is not to be expected that a contumacious refusal to rescue these unfortunate the subject, very much paralyzed all my efforts. A females from such barbarous and disgusting female slave, of only fourteen years of age, was punished last week in the workhouse with thirty- punishments should be much longer tolerated; nine lashes by order of her inhuman mistress, a and you will have the goodness to impress, in the kept woman, after having been two months in strongest terms, on the Council and Assembly, the prison, and for some most trifling offence. A fixed determination of the Ministers of the Crown middle-aged female slave received, about ten days to omit no methods sanctioned by law and justice ago, thirty-nine lashes, by order of a white girl to arrest the progress of such cruelties. Nothing of seventeen years of age, who, in the absence of can be more unfounded than the opinion which her father, had charge of his house. A female you state to have prevailed, that the British Goslave at Exuma was so severely flogged that a vernment was cool and indifferent upon the subjustice of the peace (a planter on the island) ject. I hear, with much concern, that your efforts wrote to me, and made an affidavit, that he could have been paralyzed by the prevalence of such a not tell what number of lashes she had received, notion; yet I cannot regret that those efforts were On returning home, she was flogged for having on such occasions must have been to your feelbut that he had never seen so cruel a punishment. made. However irksome the necessary interference been to complain. I caused the owner in this ings, it is highly satisfactory to learn that you last case to be prosecuted by the crown lawyer; have exerted yourself with so much energy, though but as the proof of the second flogging rested unhappily with so little effect, to bring the offendsolely upon slave evidence and of one free coloured ers to justice. It must be borne in mind, that slavery exman, the grand jury ignored the bill. In the two ists in a much milder form in the Bahamas other cases I have mentioned I could not legally than in any other of our slave colonies. No interfere. The Attorney-General, to whom I sugars are exported thence, and the negro referred the particulars of the case of a minor of population is increasing. If, then, in such a seventeen years of age having ordered such a colony, atrocities like those mentioned by the cruel punishment, informed me that she had a governor can be practised with impunity, what right so to do. In the case of the young girl of may we not suspect of other slave commu-kept woman to whom she belongs, I caused a fourteen years of age punished by order of the nities? By a despatch, bearing date 5th of April, 1831, the Governor informs the Colonial Seeretary, of the rejection, by the Assembly, of a very moderate bill on the flogging of females. The following is an extract :— MY LORD,-In the concluding paragraph of the despatch of the 31st of January, 1831, which I had the honour of addressing to your Lordship, I ventured to express my hopes that such regulations and restrictions respecting the flogging of female slaves would be adopted by the House of Assembly, in consequence of their discussion on the subject, as would materially lessen the evils of this most disgusting system. The House, I am sorry to have to report, have disappointed me, and have not only replied to my answer to their address in very general and evasive terms, but, by rejecting without a division, after its first reading only, a very moderate bill upon the subject which had passed the council, have convinced me, that although there are fortunately a few gentlemen of a proper and manly feeling, yet that the great majority of the Assembly are too prejudiced and too narrow-minded to conceive the existence of any other order of things than that which they have been accustomed to witness. In my speech at the close of the session, I thought it my duty to point out how much they had disappointed me, and how much they must sink in the esteem of their fellow-subjects of the rest of the empire. I am afraid that I shall not be able to do much im mediate good; but I shall conceive it nevertheless my duty to take every opportunity, both publicly and privately, of exerting whatever influence I may possess in bringing the inhabitants, if possible, to a better feeling. Again, in a despatch of the 3rd of May, 1831, he recurs to the subject, and specifies various cases of female flogging which had recently occurred. I shall not fail to avail myself of the opportunity of the House being assembled to endeavour to procure some amendment of the law by which the power of inflicting arbitrary severe corporeal punishment on slaves of both sexes is vested in the owner. Your Lordship's commands upon that head will be by me most cheerfully and readily obeyed. My first and great object is to do away with the flogging of female whom she lives, expressive of my sentiments of her. It has been repeated to me, that this unfortunate woman was at the time very unwell, and that there were some particularly indelicate circumstances in this case. Of the latter part of the story, of the ill-health of the woman, and of her being previously struck, there is only slave evidence, or I would endeavour to bring this man to punishment. I have entered into the foregoing details to show your Lordship, that, from an Assembly selected from a society where such horrors as I have described are allowed to take place without any animadversion, a change of the law, and voluntary surrender of the power of inflicting punishment, is not to be looked for in a hurry. There are, however, unquestionably some very good and very well-meaning men, and I am unwilling to give up the hope of ultimate success. It is an Augean stable, which may be cleansed, but only by unceasing efforts, seconded by your Lordship's cordial support, and the weight of your authority. The following reply of the Colonial Secre- I have received your despatch dated the 3rd of from the state of the law respecting the evidence shall recur to this correspondence again ere Here we must close for the present, but long. In the meantime, we strongly recom mend the whole to the attentive examination of our friends. ALCHYMY. gances, that, as Mr. Evelyn observes in his HENRY VI. was so reduced by his extravaNumismata, he endeavoured to recruit his empty coffers by Alchymy. The record of this singular proposition contains "the most solemn and serious account of the feasibility and virtues of the philosopher's stone, encouraging the search after it, and dispensing with all statutes and prohibitions." This record was, very probably, communicated (says an ingenious antiquary) by Mr. Selden to his beloved friend, Ben Jonson, when he was writing his comedy of the Alchymist. After this patent was published, many promised to answer the King's expectations, so effectually (the same writer adds) that the next year he published another patent, wherein he tells his subjects that the happy hour was drawing nigh, and by means of THE STONE, which he should soon be master of, he would pay all the debts of the nation, in real gold and silver. The persons picked out for this new operation were as follow: Thomas Hervey, an Austin friar; Robert Glaselay, a preaching friar; William Atclytte, of St. Lawrence, Pontigny College, in London; the queen's physician; Henry Sharp, master Thomas Cook, Alderman of London; John Fyld, fishmonger; John Yonghe, grocer; Robert Gayton, grocer; John Sturgeon, and John Lambert, mercers, of London. tate parliamenti. Prynne, who has given this This patent was likewise granted authoripatent in his Aurum Regina, p. 135, concludes with this sarcastic observation, "A project never so seasonable and necessary as now." The following statute, repeated in the preceding record, proves that "multiplication of gold' was the term applied to one branch of alchymy. "None from henceforth shall use to multi Ply gold or silver, or use the craft of multiplication; and if any the same shall do, he shall incur the pain of felony."-J. S. Andrews's History of Great Britain. THE subject of this biographical sketch was born at Culloden House, County of Inverness, in the year 1685, and is well entitled to be ranked among the most distinguished characters which Scotland has produced. Viewed as a lawyer, a legislator, a judge, a patriot, a Christian, and a man, few individuals have appeared possess ing such a combination of splendid talents and genuine worth. The family from whom he was descended are mentioned in the earliest records of the country as one of considerable importance. Alexander de Forbes, a man of great magnanimity and courage, was Governor of the Castle of Urquhart, which he gallantly defended against Edward I. of England, to the very last extremity; after a lengthened resistance the fortress was taken by storm, and the whole garrison, including Forbes, and all his sons, were put to the sword. His lady was soon afterwards delivered of a son, named Alexander, who, while a youth, performed many heroic deeds under Robert Bruce. In the time of Cromwell, one of his descendants was a merchant in Inverness, who, by his enterprising and industrious conduct, acquired sufficient means to purchase the estate of Culloden. His grandson considerably enlarged the property; he had two sons who were educated at King's College, Old Aberdeen, where they distinguished themselves as diligent students and excellent scholars, although participating in all the excesses of youth; certainly not much to their credit, both had the reputation of being the two greatest topers in the north. Duncan, the second son, had a wish to join the army, but was persuaded by his friends to enter into business. From losses at sea, and a want of discrimination in giving credit, his patrimony (10,000 marks, Scotch *) was soon exhausted, when he relinquished commercial avocations, and betook himself to the study of the civil and municipal law of Scotland. When twentythree years old he was admitted a member of the Scotch bar. Stimulated with an ardent desire to excel, he soon attracted considerable notice as an advocate. His manly eloquence was never prostituted to promote a bad cause, and his well-known integrity of conduct gave immense weight to his speeches, both with the judges and the juries. county in Parliament. His opponent, strongly supported by the Court, and possessing great family interest, was returned; but on a petition being presented to the House of Commons, the return was set aside, and Mr. Forbes declared duly elected. Here his high character for integrity, with his dignified and energetic oratory, soon gained him many friends and admirers. His friendship was eagerly courted by men of the highest rank, who had any pretensions to taste and genius. In 1725 he was appointed Lord Advocate; in this high office he acted with fidelity to the government, and with mildness and compassion to the people. His elder brother dying in 1735, he succeeded to the estates of Culloden, &c., and two years afterwards was promoted to the highest legal situation in Scotland-Lord President of the Court of Session. On his appointment as Lord President he introduced into the Court many regulations highly beneficial to the suitors, and also preserved the greatest decorum on the bench; no judge ever made greater allowance for human frailties; but with him villainy met with no quarter. His friends he loved, but never was known to give them appointments they were not well qualified During his first year on the bench he decided a number of cases that had been depending from twelve to thirty years, and his decisions to the present time are appealed to as the highest authorities. At the bar he was looked up to as a father, his conduct was so courteous; at the same time, he never allowed those improper liberties which counsel are too ready to indulge. He was active in promoting trade and manufactures, agriculture and the fisheries; in short, he was unwearied in his exertions in every possible way to promote the real interest and good of his country. to fill. When the standard of rebellion was again unfurled in 1745, he was zealously engaged in preventing the Highland chiefs, with their tails (followers), from joining in the mad attempt of the Chevalier to regain the throne of his fathers. Through his exertions in assisting the government to suppress the rebellion, he impaired and almost ruined his private fortune; but renown was his only reward-no blushing honours were pressed upon him. Soon after the victory, or rather butchery, of the battle of Culloden, the Lord President came to London. Great as his exertions were in supporting the family on the throne, and ardent mind revolted at, and led him to protest as his zeal was in its cause, his magnanimous against, the sanguinary conduct of the Duke of Cumberland, and the uncalled for severity exercised by government upon the deluded victims of the infatuated Stuarts; and on his During the rebellion, 1715, he joined his with marked indifference. The King put the appearance at Court George II. received him elder brother, with some other Highland fa- following question to him:-"Is it true, my milies who espoused the cause of the House of Lord President, that a party of the Duke's Hanover, and was very instrumental in per-army (after the battle was over) killed certain suading many from joining the Stuart party John, Duke of Argyle and Greenwich, who at that time commanded the King's troops in Scotland, was so convinced of the honesty of his zeal and great usefulness, that he bestowed on him many tokens of affection and esteem, and afterwards proffered him the management of his extensive estates, with a handsome saJary. Forbes declined accepting of the latter, but undertook the task of conducting his affairs on the sole consideration that his Grace would treat him as a friend. In 1722, Mr. 'f'orbes stood a contest to represent a northern * About £550.} grant was afterwards purchased by government from his grandson, Duncan George Forbes, who, I believe, is the present proprietor of Culloden. The Lord President Forbes was one of those illustrious legal characters who have rendered eminent service to the cause of religion. Like Lord Chief Justice Hale, of England, and Lord Hailes, of Scotland, he unfolded the sacred truths of revelation with that profound knowledge which his education and habits enabled him to do; and as he could not be suspected of interested motives (a charge too often unjustly made against zealous clergymen), his arguments came with irresistible force. There is some reason to conclude that, in early life, Forbes was sceptically inclined, from a belief that there were many contradictions to be found in the sacred volume. But being earnestly desirous to be satisfied of its truth, he studied the Scriptures in their original languages. Having become master of the Hebrew tongue, he, during the vacations of the Court of Session, retired to his house at Culloden, and read his Hebrew Bible no less than eight times over. He became a champion in the cause of Christianity, and wrote in its defence against Tindal. He tried the Scriptures by a strict examination, by a cool and impartial inquiry, and fully reconciled them to his reason, as the words of life eternal. In this rational mode of investigation, it has been said, that the late excellent Sir William Jones adopted Forbes as his model. What Forbes has written discovers genuine erudition, and great judgment on the subjects of natural and revealed religion-on some important discoveries in philosophy and theology, and concerning the sources of incredulity; the latter is addressed to a bishop. What he published to the world he exemplified in his own life, not teaching only, but also practising religion. After his lamented death the faculty of advocates at the Scotch bar paid a high compliment to his memory, by erecting an admirable statue, by Roubiliac, in the Court where he had presided (formerly the Parliament House). Under the statue is the following inscription :— DUNCANO FORBES DE CULLODEN, TO OPPRESSION. R. supposed rebels who had fled for safety into OPPRESSION! I have seen thee, face to face, the Court of Culloden House?" The reply And met thy cruel eye and cloudy brow; was, "Your Majesty, I wish I could say No." But thy soul-withering glance I fear not now, Here ended his favour at Court; and on the Of deep abhorrence! Scorning the disgrace For dread to prouder feelings doth give place 12th of the following December his Lordship Of slavish knees, that near thy footstool bow, died, in the 60th year of his age, leaving his I also kneel-but with far other vow family in very embarrassed circumstances, Do hail thee and thy herd of hirelings base. solely from the large pecuniary advances heI swear, while life-blood warms my throbbing had made in suppressing the rebellion. A few years after his death his son obtained from government, as a compensation for his father's exertions, liberty on his lands to distill spirits free of duty, and without being under the surveillance of the excise. Hence originated the far-famed "Ferintosh whiskey." This veins, Still to oppose and thwart, with heart and hand, Pringle's Ephemerides. THE CHAMELEON. This animal measured ten inches in length, of which the tail was four inches and a half. It was embarked on board a ship at Cadiz, with several others, the greater part of which died during the voyage; and came into the possession of Mr. Couch about the end of July, in perfect health. He observes that the chameleon moves rather slowly, especially on the ground. Its most favourite place of resort is a bush, or branched stick, along which it advances with great circumspection-never losing its hold with one hand (as its singularly formed feet may well be termed), until it has secured a certain grasp with the others. The tail, in the mean while, is employed in holding fast, by twisting round the branch on which it is advancing. The prehensile tail is particularly useful in preserving the body erect; for which purpose, when on a slender twig, the feet alone are not always sufficient. But it is the colour of this animal, as our readers well know, which has long been regarded as the most interesting part of its history, and concerning which the most wonderful stories have been arrated, most of them, however, resolving themselves into this, that upon whatever substance the chameleon was placed, it never failed to assume, in a short time, the colour of that substance. This notion, the observations of Mr. Couch completely disprove, although they confirm the fact that the colour of the animal is really "subject to never-ceasing variations," and that these changes are noticeable in the minute tubercles with which the body is covered, and not in the interstices. Its most common colour, when enjoying itself in its favourite occupation of basking in the sun, is that of a dingy black, nearly approaching to the colour of soot; and a light or whitish yellow is that which it assumes while asleep; yet it is remarkable that it rarely retains the same hue for ten minutes together, and the changes it undergoes are perfectly astonishing, indeed for it to miss. Its approach to the fly is at first slow and circumspect; when within a proper distance, the mouth is opened, and the tongue protruded slowly for about an inch; beyond this it is darted with great celerity, alby some, who have said it is more rapid than though not so swiftly as has been represented could be followed by the eye. pointed; but when it is darted forward after "The extremity of the tongue is flat and the fly, the extremity is formed into the shape of a large pea, the middle being the most projecting part. To this the fly adheres by the tenacity of the mucus with which it is conveyed, and is instantly withdrawn into the mouth. The fly must be always on some fixed object, and nearly, if not quite, at rest, before the chameleon will attempt to take it; and I its tongue as the fly has been in motion, until, have seen it repeatedly protrude and retract at last, it has either seized it, or given up the attempt altogether." In moist weather, it became sluggish, sleeping nearly all the day, and scarcely moving when awake. Its great delight was in bright sunshine; but the light and heat of a fire did not seem acceptable to it. it. As the weather became colder, it increased in torpidity; and the heat of the fire appeared to have no influence except in causing it to become a little darker at the part presented to the heat. On the 5th of December it was found dead, and of a dark colour. The public are much indebted to Mr. Couch for his care in making and registering his observations, and for the facts which he has communicated to illustrate the character and habits of this singular animal. sedanganath was swehrA DIO be allons bar agobias fasule occurred during its sleep as fully and as decidedly as when it was awake. Sometimes they were produced by the approach of a lighted candle; sometimes by the presence or absence of the solar rays; sometimes by contact with another substance, as the touch of the thermometer, when it was desired to ascertain its temperature: in all these cases the colours were various, and the changes more or less partial. The popular opinion of its asthe colour of the substance on which it suming rests, is here shown to be false. It has passed over and rested," observes Mr. Couch, "on arpets variegated with different colours, a brated and strongly fortified castle, the THESE are the ruins of a once celeremains of which, though very scanty, attest its former magnificence. The name Hadleigh is said to be of Saxon derivation, and to signify "high pasture;" and this interpretation certainly agrees very exactly with the situation of the place. The castle, of which one venerable round tower is the chief remains, is situated on the brow of a steep eminence, from whence it commands a delightful pros built of stone, and almost of an oval form. pect across the Thames into Kent. It is Some idea may be formed of its strength from the fact, that the walls in the lower parts of the tower are nine feet thick; the cement or mortar by which they are bound together being as hard as the stones themselves, and composed of a mixture of shells of sea-fish and other enduring materials. It was built by Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, in the reign of Henry the Third, and by his permission. It lasted, however, but a short time in the possession of its founder; for, on his losing the favour of his sovereign, the castle was confiscated, and ever after held by the crown until Henry the Eighth, who granted it, with the possessions connected with it, to Anne of Cleves, his forsaken queen, for her maintenance. MERITS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. "Mortalia enneta peribant Nedum sermonum stet honos, et gratia vivax." Hor. Ars. Poet. THE rage for novelty which has distinguished this nation of late years has, perhaps, no where shown itself more unequivocally than in the changes which have taken place in our language. The simple beauties which were the pride of its youth seem now to be totally despised, and superseded by a host of new-fangled refinements from continental neighbours, insomuch that if some of our old forefathers could come from their graves, and open the publications which generally lie on the tables of our reading-rooms, they would be some time in determining in what language they were written. Nor is this habit of borrowing terms confined to ourselves: some times, on the other hand, we lend some of our own to enrich the vocabulary of our neighbours. We understand, for example, that the French have of late adopted our word comfort, which (for obvious reasons) had no place in their nomenclature. On hearing of this fact, we were naturally led to ask ourselves what we had received in return; and the first words which occurred to us were, etiquette and ennui! If this instance may be considered as indicating the ordinary par of exchange between us, we fear we are not likely to gain much by our bargains. It is the object of this article to show that no necessity exists in our language for any such interpolations as we have alluded to, and we accordingly subjoin some instances furnished by Turner, in his History of the Anglo-Saxons, tending to show the strength and copiousness of the original English language, and the degree of its prevalence in different eras of our literature. The great proof of the copiousness and power of the Anglo-Saxon language may be had from considering our own English, which is principally Saxon. It may be interesting to show this by taking some lines of our principal authors, and marking in Italics the Saxon words they contain. SHAKSPEARE. To be or not to be, that is the question; Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The stings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die, to sleep ; No more! and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ach, and the thousand natural shocks The flesh is heir to! 'twere a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die; to sleep; To sleep? perchance to dream! MILTON. With thee conversing I forget all time, All seasons, and their change; all please alike. Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, With charm of earliest birds; pleasant the sun When first on this delightful land he spreads His orient beams on herb, tree, fruit, and flower, Glistening with dew; fragrant the fertile earth Mark that swift arrow! how it cuts the air! Fool! 'tis thy life, and the fond archer thou. Translators of the BIBLE. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there. And when Joseph came home they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they And bowed down their heads, and made obeisance. he lift up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. Gen. xliii. 25-29. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! John xi. 32-36. THOMSON. These as they change, Almighty Father! these comes by them? I know it is a received doctrine that men have native ideas, and original characters stamped upon their minds in their very first being. Locke's Essay, Book xi., c. 1. POPE. How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! Let Indians, and the gay, like Indians, fond SWIFT. Wisdom is a fox, who, after long hunting, will at last cost you the pains to dig out. 'Tis a cheese, which by how much the richer has the thicker, the homelier, and the coarser coat; and whereof, to a judicious palate, the maggots are the best. 'Tis a sack posset, wherein the deeper you go you will find it the sweeter. But then, lastly, 'tis a nut, which, unless you choose with judgment, may cost you a tooth, and pay you with nothing but a worm. ROBERTSON. This great emperor, in the plenitude of his power, and in possession of all the honors which can flatter the heart of man, took the extraordinary resolution to resign his kingdom; and to withdraw entirely from any concern in business or the affairs of this world, in order that he might spend the remainder of his days in retirement and solitude.Dioclesian is, perhaps, the only prince, capable of holding the reins of government, who ever resigned them from deliberate choice, and who continued during many years to enjoy the tranquillity of retirement, without fetching one penitent sigh, or casting back one look of desire towards the power or dignity which he had abandoned. HUME. Charles V. The beauties of her person, and graces of her air, combined to make her the most amiable of women; and the charms of her address and conversation aided the impression which her lovely Ambifigure made on the heart af all beholders. tious and active in her temper, yet inclined to cheerfulness and society; of a lofty spirit, constant and even vehement in her purpose, yet politic, gentle, and affable, in her demeanor, she seemed to partake only so much of the male virtues as to render her estimable, without relinquishing those soft graces which compose the proper ornament of her sex. GIBBON. In the second century of the Christian æra the empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind. The frontiers of that extensive monarchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valour. The gentle but powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. Their peaceful inhabitants enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth and luxury. |